Loose Words
by MoonlitElegy
Summary: When Kagome falls behind during the journey and finds herself alone and injured in the forest, what exactly happens?
1. Chapter 1

**Loose Words**

An Inuyasha/Kagome Fanfiction

A/N: Hello All! While writing this story I had a really nasty cold and my mind was muddled as I fought between the urge to get this idea out of my head and the desire to sleep. That is my poor excuse for any discrepancies in the story.

Note: Shippo is at Kaede's village, so will not be present in this story's setting.

Enjoy.

* * *

"Wait!" Kagome cried out. Her hands fumbled around in a clumsy fashion as she grasped her sore ankle. Her breath hitched and she found herself gasping out in pain as her numb fingers skimmed over the area. Alarmed, she quickly pulled her shoe and knee-high sock off of her right foot to survey the damage. There, a light purple bruise had already formed from the sudden abuse. One glance at the swollen ankle told her that it needed serious attention immediately.

She frowned as she stared at it. The discoloration was a stark contrast against her pale skin and she continued to gently massage her leg in hopes of easing her discomfort. The heavy rain that fell onto her frail body did nothing to better the situation.

The group was ahead and the roar of thunder and pounding rain on the ground drowned out her feeble cry. She cried out again, opening her mouth to make a sound. But all that came out was a squeak. She swallowed. Her throat was dry and she took a deep breath as she tried to stand up, praying that her twisted ankle would go along with her attempts. Gritting her teeth, she dropped both her hands onto the thick and muddy ground that had surrounded her knees and tried to prop herself up with arm strength alone.

She raised her fingers, digging into the gooey texture, pushing herself up with her arms and undamaged left leg. Slowly and steadily, she rose inch by inch from the ground.

Silently, she cursed the rocks behind her. As she agonizingly raised herself up, she glanced back and glared at the jagged stones guilty for her sprained ankle.

Suddenly lightning flashed above her and her surroundings turned completely white. Surprised, her strength gave away and she felt herself plop back down into the smooth and liquidly texture below her, making it splash up and onto the front of her uniform. She closed her eyes to regain her composure and tried to resist the violent shiver that followed when a few seconds later, the loud clap of thunder was heard in the distance.

_'Inuyasha...'_ The injured girl inwardly sighed. Her voice had been silenced by the weather and she knew that his keen sense of smell would be dulled as the scent of earth and other vapors covered the air.

The rest of the group was most likely already far ahead. They had reported how they could hear a faint growl and sensed an evil presence up the long forest path. Inuyasha had been leading the group as he normally did, but suddenly his impatience got the better of him as he ran and leapt farther ahead while he demanded everyone to move faster before the demon went astray from its path. Then the rain had began to pour onto the travelers but the arrogant hanyou had decided to rush on forward anyway to slay the demon, rain or sunshine, since it might carry a jewel.

Kagome lagged behind as the group rushed forward, eager to defeat the demon and retreat to the nearest village. The prospect of retiring early and staying dry from the onslaught of rain was enough of a motivation to get everyone moving. As the group trudged on, the young priestess also hurried, but had gotten left behind due to her untimely thoughtfulness. She had stopped for a moment to search her backpack for umbrellas, but had given up on the idea when she opened the flap and realized how much she had crammed into the bag. By the time she had returned the bag back onto her shoulders and looked back up the path, the group had already disappeared from her view. In haste, she sprinted further down the path and kept a lookout for flashes of bold colors.

Unknown to her, up ahead on the path, Miroku had warned the group of the few large rocks and stones unmistakably too unstable and uneven to run over. Kagome cursed her stupidity. How did she not see those..?

Here she was, unable to get up, much less continue on and catch up with her fellow teammates.

She felt pathetic.

_'You're slowing us down, wench! The search for the jewel shards are taking too damn long. We're wasting time,' Inuyasha, rather frustrated, commented as Kagome slowed to a walking pace. Unnerved, she ignored him, but picked up her pace a bit faster. She hated it when the impatient half demon didn't realize that not everyone was as quick as him. Nor would they ever reach up to his high expectations. _

_Taking her silence as a sign of obedience, he fehed and simply ran and leapt on ahead, soon catching up to the three other teammates in the group. The left-alone girl continued walking, lost in her thoughts. She trailed behind and kicked a pebble. Her large and bulky backpack was slowing her more than usual. What did she pack in there again? _

_'That jerk...' The girl simply muttered as a plump droplet of water descended down from the sky and landed onto her cheek._

"Ugh," Kagome winced, snapping out of her trance. She glanced down at her injured limb once again and grimaced. Her right ankle was now showing off an impressive bruise. In annoyance, Kagome gave out a little frustrated groan.

_'Help...Anyone?'_ Kagome swallowed loudly as she tried once again to stand up. She was scared and alone and she felt anxious as her body incontrollably shivered.

A huge gust of wind rushed past the poor girl and she couldn't help but give out a little cry in distress. Her hair blew around her wet face as she trembled and failed once again to push herself up. Feeling cold and helpless with her ankle broken, Kagome looked around her as the mud surrounding her bent legs slowly inched up.

_'I need to find shelter,'_ she thought as her teeth chattered from the chill that was working its way into her system. Her regular school uniform was soaked and clung to her body like second skin as she had to rub her hands together to get feeling back into her fingers before she began to reach over to her shoulder-strapped backpack. In the process of removing the item from her shoulders, she abruptly paused in her discomfort to sneeze. Tugging at the bindings, she released the straps and looked inside. To her disappointment, all there was were ramen cups, crayons, her textbooks, and her overly large sleeping bag, all tucked in neatly.

After digging around a bit, Kagome mentally slapped herself. Where was her first aid kit? She looked around the side pockets of the bag and found no umbrellas available and groaned. Of all days for her to be negligent, she chose today.

The rain that drizzled upon her now gently tapped against her frame.

Her eyebrows knit together as she concentrated, trying to remember her packing process. She had left the first aid kit at Kaede's, knowing beforehand that the majority of the group's injuries were normally just treated there, with the old priestess's help of herbs. But then...where were her umbrellas? She thought carefully, trying to remember exactly why this necessity wasn't packed. She usually brought at least two pairs, as a matter of fact; one for her and Inuyasha and the other for Sango and Miroku.

_'It usually is...'_ Her thoughts trailed as she struggled to make sense of it all.

A few seconds later, it hit her. Upon Inuyasha's insistence, she had packed too many Ramen cups in her backpack, leaving no room for umbrellas.

All her problems always began and ended with him, didn't they?

Kagome sighed. There was nothing to do but wait. It had been over half an hour now and Kagome was beginning to worry. Lightning flashed again and she felt too weak to care as the sounds of thunder rang louder and closer than before. Her whole body felt numb and her head was beginning to feel woozy. She sneezed again, while she gently inspected her bruised ankle. Her eyes lowered slowly, looking at the dirty mud that was drenched all over her school uniform. She bitterly noted that the thin material was useless in shielding and insulating her body in harsh weather. She decided on resting her head against a raised knee and closed her eyes as she gripped her leg.

"Kagome!" A voice yelled out. Immediately, Kagome's eyes blinked open.

Absolute relief flooded her mind and she felt her body and muscles relax. '_Finally!'_

But as she tilted her head up to see her rescuer through the rainy atmosphere, she couldn't help but give out another little cry in dismay.

It wasn't Inuyasha.


	2. Chapter 2

**Loose Words**

**Chapter 2**

"Koga!" She quietly cried out in half pain and surprise. Her eyelids were growing heavy as huge droplets of rain continued to fall. She couldn't help but wipe her eyes and look up at the wolf youkai standing before her. Were her eyes tricking her?

"Kagome!" Koga called out again, his tone happier this time as he heard a response. He turned his head and headed straight toward the sound of her strangled voice. When he reached the main source of her faint scent, his tracking instincts stopped and he grinned as he looked before him. But before he could greet her as he normally did, he couldn't help but take notice of her drenched and shivering form. Mud was everywhere, soaking and covering what was visible of her creamy legs. He saw that her wet bangs covered her eyes and half her face and her body was hunched in an odd position. A position, he immediately realized, of pain. His smile faded and his expression changed into one of anxiety and confusion. Frowning, he cautiously walked closer to her and brought one of his knees down, trying to take a closer look at the disoriented girl. Her breathing was shallow, broken and weak even to his sharp hearing, as the untreated injury became unbearable.

"K- Kagome?" He tried again, steadily reaching out to her in the rainy setting. The young teenager in front of him sneezed in response and gave a weak smile. Dazed, Kagome opened her mouth to speak, but she was quickly reminded that her voice was hoarse and her throat sore. She managed to make out a squeak, but that had only managed to upset Koga even more. The unsure demon chief sniffed the air around her and resisted the urge to cough. His sensitive nose told him that the air around her smelled sick.

"...Wait a minute...what happened?" He took a moment to calm down to collect his thoughts. He knew it wasn't safe for her to be out during such a stormy day, much less alone. He grasped her hands and frantically, he shook them, trying to get a reaction from Kagome. In response, she opened her mouth to explain, but her lost voice made her attempt useless.

Koga's eyes narrowed, worried. He needed answers, dammit. Why exactly why was Kagome out here all alone?

As if sensing his growing irritation, Kagome desperately tried once again, hoping to get across to him that she was okay.

"Where's the mutt..? Did...DID HE LEAVE YOU OUT HERE?" Koga's sniffed the air again, determined to find Inuyasha's scent lingering in the air. Plus, his mind refused to think of anything else to blame. He grit his teeth, already losing his mind to imagination. '_That _dog_ is going to _die Koga thought to himself, _'to do this to _my_ mate.'_

Kagome took a deep breath and sighed. Heavy drops of rain dripped onto her eyelashes, each drop adding pounds as the girl struggled to stay awake. She knew he was going to ask that. She had planned to say a firm no, but for some reason, as he sat in front of her and gazed fiercely into her eyes, Kagome faltered. Suddenly the very mention of Inuyasha was overwhelming. Why hadn't he come back yet?

He was her protector.

Surely by now he would've noticed that she was too far behind?

Still receiving no reply, Koga scanned around her and took note of things. Her yellow, large, and distinctly wet backpack was beside her, laid tossed to the ground. But there was something else. He took a whiff around her again, leaning closer, and this time though, he detected another scent; her ankle. His eyes widened in surprise and he let out a little yelp in dismay and outrage. But he stayed in his position of kneeing down in front of her, as he took hold of her trembling and shaking hands.

As doubts and insecurity plagued her mind, Kagome began to feel hot. As the rain fell upon her, she looked down, exhausted and tired. Her breathing had become uneven and ragged; her hands frantically clawed to the nearest solid thing around her for support. When her extremely clumsy fingers felt Koga's sturdy arm in front of her, she clung and held on, earning a surprised look from Koga. Her vision was becoming blurry and out of focus...and suddenly her whole body felt heavy, weighed down, and numb from the chilly winds. She could no longer feel the slick liquid of rain pouring down on her. The only thing she could hear was her heartbeat, loud enough to block out Koga's panicky voice from her mind.

She had spent too much time lingering with the cold and pounding rain upon her. She had reached her body's limit, and she knew she was losing consciousness. Unable to think clearly anymore, she slightly leaned forward onto Koga...

...as her eyes closed and the world turned black.

**End of Chapter 2**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

She had fainted. And the frantic person she fell upon was in a mess. Mentally. The wolf demon looked down at the shivering and unconsious girl and despite his wolf demon leadership instincts screaming at him to just run away, he was worried about how much the miko below him had endured. He knew he couldn't take her back to a human village...for the villages in the area despized wolf demons; his pack of hungry wolves had done their jobs terrorizing and killing at meal time than at any other time. How bad would it look if the wolf tribe's _leader_ was asking for help? He at least had his pride, right?

So he scratched away that option.

Quickly he looked around her; his eyes stopped at the yellow backpack besides her a few feet away...maybe it had something that could help cover and shield Kagome from the rain?

_'...Nah. The flimsy thing she carries around probably has only human food or something.'_

_'...And I don't think my tribe would have anything that would help her..sickness.'_

His choices were quickly eliminating themselves and it was after that tempting thought, did Koga really consider running away back to his den, where his worries would dissappear. But that would leave Kagome out here dieing for all he knew.

He let out a sigh as he continued to decide on what to do...

_'Wait. Why am I even here? She's that mutt's protection, right?'_

And on cue, a panicking yell reached his ears and to his amazement, also to the young teenaged girl below him. With an abrupt shake throughout her frail body, Kagome eyes slightly opened as she was dragged out from her short unconsious state. The raindrops were still falling and her breathing grew noticably uneven.

"KAGOME!" Inuyasha shouted for the twentieth time. In a impatient and rushed tone, he growled.

He cursed at himself for making such a stupid decision. Once the rain started falling, the hanyou had foolishly chosen to continue on forward even faster, hoping to tell his companions to slow down before everyone seperated. But Shippou, Miroku, and the demon slayer were nowhere to be found up ahead. It seemed as if they had already found a dry place to rest. Their scents had seemingly disappeared and Inuyasha couldn't help but frustratedly curse.

So here he was turning back, finally listening to his loud and alarming instincts. As the dirty and tainted rain puddles continued to splash up due to the hanyou's swift pace, Inuyasha couldn't help but feel like an idiot. What if Kagome was in danger? This era wasn't safe...he should known that the most. And worse, the fact that he left her unguarded was beginning to echo through his skull.

He had left Kagome. _Alone._

His drenched and miserable self mentally punched itself. What the hell had he been thinking?

And then a strong scent hit him, despite the lingering mist from the rainy atmosphere. He rushed on forward, suddenly feeling worried, yet relieved. But the scene in front of him made his heart stop.

His eyes lowered and a confused and angry expression floated upon his face. She was leaning upon another figure and by the looks of his keen ears, her breathing condition wasn't normal. But as he stepped closer and his eyes narrowed and squinted, he froze.

She was with Koga.


End file.
